Nothing Phone 2a Gets Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta 1

Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta 1 is available for users who want the Android 15 experience first hand. Nothing OS 3.0 represents the company’s take on Android 15. Nothing has released the first open beta of Nothing OS 3.0 for the Nothing Phone 2a, following a recent YouTube video previewing the new interface. To test the new Android 15-based Nothing OS 3.0 features on your iPhone 2a, follow these steps to join the open beta program.

Nothing’s community forum disclosed significant facts about its future skin, including main features, release timetable, and installation file. It’s a significant improvement, and open beta access is coming to the following models:

• Phone (2a): Available now
• Phone (2): November 2024
• Phone (1): December 2024
• Phone (2a) Plus: December 2024
• CMF Phone 1: December 2024

Interestingly, the company has not supplied any information about the availability of their recently launched smartphone, the Nothing Phone 2a Plus. Keep in mind that this is the release timeframe for the open beta version; the stable update is expected to arrive next year.

In terms of features, Nothing OS 3.0 is expected to significantly revamp the UI elements. The new skin includes an easier-to-read typeface, a simpler settings interface, updated notifications and fast settings panel, new lock-screen customization choices, an AI-powered app drawer, a new widget picker, a new pop-up view, camera upgrades, and more.

Here’s the complete list of changes officially mentioned in the Nothing Phone 2a Nothing OS 3.0 open beta 1 update.

• Lock screen
  • New lock screen customization page. Access by long-pressing the lock screen.
  • Upgraded clock faces. Choose your favorite style.
  • Expanded widget space, allowing you to place more widgets on your lock screen.
• Smart Drawer
  • Added AI-powered Smart Drawer feature to automatically categorize your apps into folders, for better organization and easy access.
  • For ultimate convenience, you can pin your favorite apps to the top of the app drawer. No scrolling is required.
• Quick Settings
  • Reconsidered Quick Settings design with an optimized editing experience.
  • Enhanced widget library design.
  • Updated visuals in Settings including better Network & Internet and Bluetooth options.
• Camera improvements
  • Faster camera launch speed under the Camera Widget.
  • Reduced HDR scene processing time.
  • Optimized portrait effects by fine-tuning blur intensity based on face size.
  • Boosted camera performance in low-light environments.
  • Improved zoom slider display.
• Enhanced pop-up view
  • Movable pop-up view for cleaner and more productive multitasking.
  • Easily resize the pop-up view by dragging the bottom corners.
  • Pin the pop-up view on the screen edge for quick access.
  • View information without leaving your current app. Simply swipe down on incoming notifications to enter the pop-up view. Enable via Settings > System > Pop-up view.
  • New fingerprint animation with signature dot matrix styling.
• Other improvements
  • Added support for auto-archive function to automatically free up storage space without removing apps or data from your device.
  • Partial screen sharing for more efficient and secure screen recording. Record just an app window rather than the entire screen.
  • Updated setup wizard to version 3.0 for the smoothest introduction to Nothing OS.
  • Enabled predictive back animations for apps that have opted in.

How to Join Nothing OS 3.0 Open Beta on Nothing Phone 2a

Users of the Nothing Phone 2a can get a taste of the impending features and changes in the Nothing OS 3.0 update, which runs on Android 15. The first open beta is now available for interested users; if you want to try out the new features right away, follow the instructions below.

WARNING: Since the Nothing OS 3.0 is in its initial phase of testing, we don’t recommend installing it on your primary smartphone, even if you’re planning to install it on your secondary device. We advise you to wait for users’ feedback and then install it on your smartphone. Please try to wait for a couple of days.

Step 1: First things first, please ensure that your Nothing Phone 2a is running on Nothing OS 2.6 with a build number of Pacman-U2.6-240828_1906.

Step 2: You need to download the Nothing Official OTA Update APK on your smartphone, once downloaded install the app on your Phone 2a.

Step 3: Open Settings and navigate to System > Update to Beta version.

Step 4: Now tap “Check for new version” and follow the on-screen instructions. You will receive the Nothing OS 3.0 open beta 1 on your Nothing Phone 2a via special OTA.

In case you want to roll back to Nothing OS 2.6, then you can download the rollback file and sideload it on your smartphone, the steps, as well as the rollback package, are available on the community forum, you can check it here.

If you already installed the Nothing OS 3.0 open beta 1 on your Phone 2a, you can share your experience in the comments section. Your insights will be valuable in helping other users understand the features and performance of this new update.